Currently reading/finishing up: Doctor Adrian by Deborah Alcock; and Stories of the Reformation in the Netherlands by Ruth G. Short. I decided to reread these two while listening to Heretic Queen: Elizabeth I and the Wars of Religion and finding myself raging at Elizabeth for not supporting William of Orange more. A post on the two books and audiobook coming soonish.
My first read of the month - The Sunne in Splendour - got a whole post of its own. "Because Richard III", to use tumblr-speak.
The Darwin Conspiracy by John Darnton
I readily admit this was a strange read for me to pick me up. As someone who's grown up with (and despite having questioned, still stands by) a staunchly Creationist view, it's more likely a book that I'd encounter with these two words in the title would be putting Darwin down. Actually, although not at all religious, that's not so far from the truth about this novel. In many ways it's a mystery, surrounding questions of Darwin's moral character, hypochondria, and the evolution of his theory. It was the mystery that got me hooked after randomly flipping through it in the library.
The story is told through three perspectives - or rather, there are three stories. The first is a young man researching Darwin, overshadowed by the memory of his high-achieving older brother, haunted by the strange experiences of that brother's death. The second is the eager, young Darwin himself on the "Beagle". The third consists of diary entries by Darwin's daughter Lizzie. Darnton doesn't quite succeed in making this last portion believable, for me at least. (Perhaps because I'm fresh from reading the often disjointed, undetailed style of early 19th century Romantic-era diarists like Mary Shelley.) However, references to George Eliot, Rossetti's "Goblin Market", and Milton's "Paradise Lost" added to my enjoyment. These quotations interacted with themes of Imperialism, intellectual integrity, and conscience. Overall, not a great or exceedingly intellectual read, but quick and entertaining.
Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James
I was singularly disappointed in this both as a sequel to Pride and Prejudice and as a mystery. Most of the reviews from Austen aficionados that I read when it came out in 2011 were positive, so I expected more from this than from the usual insipid or scandalous Austen sequel. I expected it would imitate Austen's style amusingly, or (better yet) reveal an interesting perspective on how Elizabeth and Darcy might have grown and developed over years of marriage. It did neither. Sure, there was one chapter about Mr and Mrs Collins that made me chuckle, but that chapter was filler - something Austen never resorted to. The repeated mentions of the tempestuous weather and of characters' low spirits came across as heavy-handed. The unvaried use of "[Darcy] said" to begin paragraphs felt clunky.
The worst outrage was to Austen's beloved characters. Her immortal sparring couple were reduced to one-dimensional cut-outs. Austen's Elizabeth dominates her novel - almost too much when we are easily led to embrace her prejudiced judgments. I'd hoped that the young woman who walked to Netherfield "three miles so early in the day, and in such dirty weather, and by herself" would take a pivotal role in solving the murder mystery. Instead, Elizabeth Darcy remains consistently a spectator to men's doings, and a specter of herself.
It was an easy read with short chapters and I did finish it for the "whodunit", but even that aspect felt contrived and uninteresting. Of the association of such a miserable novel with Austen's "darling child" I ask, "Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?"
The worst outrage was to Austen's beloved characters. Her immortal sparring couple were reduced to one-dimensional cut-outs. Austen's Elizabeth dominates her novel - almost too much when we are easily led to embrace her prejudiced judgments. I'd hoped that the young woman who walked to Netherfield "three miles so early in the day, and in such dirty weather, and by herself" would take a pivotal role in solving the murder mystery. Instead, Elizabeth Darcy remains consistently a spectator to men's doings, and a specter of herself.
It was an easy read with short chapters and I did finish it for the "whodunit", but even that aspect felt contrived and uninteresting. Of the association of such a miserable novel with Austen's "darling child" I ask, "Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?"
If you think my review is negative, go read this one, which is scathing, but utterly accurate.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I filled up my second-hand copy with snarky replies to the comments of the previous owner, and shrieks at Fitzgerald's resplendent words.
I might organize my thoughts on this novel into coherency and post them here later.
Thrilled to be starting Jane Austen's Philosophy of the Virtues by Sarah Emsley, lent me by Esther. I'll probably also read some Virgina Woolf. Not quite as excited about that, as previous attempts haven't been especially enlightening or easy.
Lastly, a Gatsby-related t-shirt I wanted to remember - contains spoilers. Also, I'm putting answers to some of the WEM reading questions here.
Alternate title: The Hopeful Man's Tragedy: How the American Dream Destroyed a Man Who Attained it, and Those Around Him
Poem I kept thinking of while reading this novel: Emily Dickinson's "Each life converges to some centre" While The Great Gatsby does not end on a mystical/spiritual note like the poem, it also gives a vague hope that if we "run faster, stretch out our arms farther" toward the "orgiastic future"... then "one fine morning---" The inconclusive and yet substantial dash is also reminiscent of Dickinson.
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